The touchdown that was supposed to keep Curtis in the game and send the Warriors into halftime on a high note turned out to be just a fleeting moment in a Lincoln runaway Saturday afternoon in St. George.

The Railsplitters have grown into one of the PSAL’s elite programs over the last few seasons, and they looked the part again in this year’s opener, handing the Warriors a 42-6 loss.

“Our youth took over and before we knew it we had 20-6,” said Curtis coach Peter Gambardella, who is working in some new faces after a trip to last year's city semifinals. “The mistakes were by young guys trying to make plays. It’s a process.” 

A late flurry of first-half scores turned out to be merely a stage setting. The Railsplitters were just getting warmed up.

Carlos Stewart caught a slant across the middle at midfield from Javon Moore and sprinted away from the Curtis defense for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Warriors needed a score at that point, and they got it, on a drive that started on their own 35-yard line.

Quarterback Shane Daneluzzi connected with Maleek Darby for 18 yards and Niklas Heffran for 15, and a 15-yard pass interference penalty got the Warriors to the 20.

On third-and-goal from the 10, Daneluzzi found Maliek Kelly just over the goal line to cut the lead to 14-6.

But the feel-good halftime wasn’t to be.

On Lincoln’s second play after the Curtis score, Antoine Holloman burst around the right side and sprinted 47 yards for a 20-6 lead.

Three plays into the second half, it was Holloman again, 72 yards off left tackle, practically untouched.

“Mistakes by guys that weren’t in the right spot,” said Gambardella. “They thought it was something else.”

The quick strikes continued. A 54-yard score by Andrews on a bubble screen and then Holloman’s third touchdown run, this one 33 yards as Lincoln scored on the opening play of back-to-back possessions.

Holloman finished with 166 yards on 10 carries while Moore completed 7 of 10 passes for 164 yards and three touichdowns.